Debbi Steiman, ape 11, of Downsview, Ontario, Canada, for her question:
Did Amerigo Vespucci really discover America?
Columbus discovered the West Indies in 1492, though he did not proceed the short distance farther to the great western continent. His courageous voyage was followed by a century or more of adventurers who explored and often plundered the mainland of Central and South America. Many honest reports were written. But modern historians doubt the reports of Amerigo Vespucci who claimed to have discovered the new world and boldly named it America in his own honor.
Documents written in the 1500s are rare and rather sketchy, hence they are hard to clarify and verify. However, Amerigo Vespucci embroidered his reports with numerous details. Though in one case he gave a different set of times and distances in a second version of the story. These elaborate details made it easier for later historians to verify Amerigo's amazing claims to fame. Many now suspect that this Italian merchant might have been a big phoney.
Vespucci was born in 1451. Early in life he became a clerk for the Medicis, the rich and powerful merchant family who ruled Florence with a rod of iron. Apparently he pleased his masters. Later he represented their far flung interests in Spain and perhaps he served them directly or indirectly throughout his life. As a Medici agent, it was his job to watch and report the voyages that followed Columbus. In his spare time he tried to learn how experienced pilots navigate by the stars though he was a very poor student.
Vespucci's version of his own adventures start with 1497, when his job was outfitting four Spanish ships. He claimed to have led this voyage across the Atlantic, though this is not likely. Perhaps he was aboard as pilot. However, his records place the expedition 16 degrees North and 70 degrees west of the Canary Islands which takes it across the mainland to a point in the Pacific Ocean.
His claim to fame includes four New World voyages between 1497 and 1505. Each took about 18 months, leaving barely time to catch his breath between trips. According to his calculations, he once voyaged to about 1,000 miles from the South Pole which happens to be on the Antarctic ice cap. Other elaborate details describe believable explorations along the east coast of South America.
In 1505, Vespucci visited Columbus in Spain and the great man accepted his version of the western continent. Perhaps this gave him the confidence to publish his stories two years later. He boldly claimed to be the discoverer of the New World mainland plus the right to name it America in his own honor.
Later historians found enough inaccuracies and unlikely details to discredit his stories. Perhaps he was merely an armchair adventurer who compiled reports from genuine New World explorers to glorify himself. At this late date it is impossible to prove that he crossed the Atlantic.